Pages

Thursday, November 24, 2016

BARU BIAN'S ADDRESS AT THE STATE ASSEMBLY NOV 2016

STATE LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY SARAWAK

21-30 NOVEMBER 2016

Mr. Speaker,

Thank
you for giving me the opportunity to address this august House on the occasion
of debating the budget 2017.

·OPENING

I wish to begin by expressing my sadness and anger
at the senseless murder of Bill Kayong on 21 June this year in Miri. This
assassination is the consequence of the state government’s policies in issuing
timber licences and provisional leases over NCR land without regard for the
rights of the natives. Bill Kayong was shot because he had been helping Tuai
Rumah Jambai and landowners at Bekelit, Bekenu in their struggle to defend
their lands from encroachment by Tung Huat Niah Plantation. Since as far back as
2008, the villagers had been subjected to harassment and acts of violence from
gangsters hired by the company. Despite the countless police reports lodged,
there had been no action taken by the local police against the gangsters and
the company. In fact, the company was known to have paid off-duty police
officers and immigration officers to enter the village with the plantation
manager to threaten the villagers.

Although several men have been charged and are standing
trial for murder, Bill Kayong’s family and friends are still waiting for the
mastermind to be caught and returned to Miri to answer for his crime. The
alleged mastermind Stephen Lee Chee Kiang of Tung Huat Niah
Plantation ran away to Australia 2 days after the murder and it appears that
the authorities are unable to successfully extradite him. Business goes on as
usual for the plantation company while Tuai Rumah Jambai and the villagers are
still battling for their rights, and Bill Kayong’s family are left without
their husband and father, still waiting for justice to be done. Such is the lot
of the ordinary people in Sarawak.

Last
month, in Balingian, there was another death resulting from another NCR land
dispute when a group of gangsters went into the village to create trouble.

By
ignoring legitimate NCR claims over pemakai menoa and pulau galau, and allowing
the land authorities to continue issuing leases and provisional leases over NCR
land, the government had set the ground for potential disputes between native
landowners and the companies.

The
government must now take steps to ensure that no more deaths result from NCR
disputes. I urge the government to respect the courts ruling that pemakai menoa
and pulau galau are part of NCR land and suggest again that the Sarawak Land
Code should be amended to reflect this. The government must also review its
policies and practice of issuing timber licences and provisional leases over
NCR land. I reiterate my call for a Land
Rights Commission to be set up, or a Land Tribunal, as suggested by the Chief
Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum in January this year.
Having been given a strong mandate by the people, I hope the Chief Minister and
his cabinet will see fit to giving the native landowners this avenue for
registering their claims and swift resolution of their disputes.

I
also welcome the call by the honourable DCM that the government suspend the
licences of plantation companies who employ gangsters in NCR disputes. This is
an excellent suggestion and I earnestly hope it will be implemented by the
government without delay. I wish to ask what action has been taken against the Tung
Huat Niah Plantation owners for their involvement in Bill Kayong’s murder. They
may not have pulled the trigger but they are responsible nevertheless.

·BUDGET ALLOCATION

Mr Speaker, the allocation from the Federal
government for the 2017 budget was a huge disappointment for Sarawakians,
especially after all the promises made by the Prime Minister and his cabinet
members during the election campaign. In total, they had promised RM561,895,000
in projects and allocations. Sarawakians voted for BN again and true to form,
the Prime Minister has conveniently forgotten all the promises made. As usual,
Sarawak is treated like a fixed deposit. I sincerely hope that the State
government will fulfill their promise of RM698,980,000 worth of allocations and
projects made by the BN candidates who had won their seats.

I was glad that the Chief Minister had announced
that he will dip into the state’s reserves to fund development for the rural
development, being ‘sick and tired’ of asking Putrajaya for funds.

It
is commendable that the budget focuses again on rural development.
Infrastructure is crucial, especially roads, as this connectivity is always a
catalyst for economic activities like opening of lands for agricultural
development, tourism etc, attracting young people to go back home to develop
their villages thereby reversing the rural-urban migration. I wish to propose
that the access road from Lawas through Lg Semadoh-Bakelalan-Bario-Lg Lama
eventually linking Miri and Bintulu town should be seriously considered as a
priority. If this were done, it would open up one of the best rural places
where the three known peaks in Sarawak are found, ie Mount Murud, Mulu and Batu
Lawi. This augurs well with our effort to increase interest in our tourism
activities.

·NON-ISLAMIC
AFFAIRS UNIT / CONVERSION ISSUE

Mr
Speaker, I was deeply encouraged by the announcement of a Non-Islamic Affairs
Unit by the Chief Minister in June this year to provide a platform for
religious issues to be discussed. Likewise, many leaders of the various
religious communities welcomed the setting up of this Unit. However, it is of
great concern that up until today, there has been no further announcement of a
leader or the members of the Unit. I hope the Minister in charge of Non-Islamic
Affairs will update us on the progress.

In
the meantime, the woes of former Muslim converts continue unabated. Recently, 3
applicants had their appeals to leave the religion rejected by the Court of
Appeal. It has been a
long and hard journey, and it is truly a shame that for them, the
constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion is still but an illusory ideal
that is out of reach.

The Court had suggested that the
appellants could turn to the State Legislature for redress. This is indeed the
way to solve this problem and to make it easier for other applicants in the
future. The Sarawak Syariah Court had admitted in writing that it has no
jurisdiction over matters of apostasy. It cannot be left for the civil court to
interpret jurisdiction ‘by implication’ when the Syariah Court itself has
disclaimed jurisdiction. This leaves the applicants in a catch-22 situation
through no fault of their own.

Syariah Courts in Malaysia are
creatures of statute, deriving their powers from the respective state Syariah
laws. I propose that the Sarawak Syariah Court Ordinance 2001 be amended to
make clear provision that when a person has declared by a statutory declaration
or any other legal method that he/she has converted out of Islam, the Syariah
Court should have no jurisdiction over that person, the jurisdiction resting
with the Civil Court pursuant to section
25(2) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964. This is consistent with the
guarantee of freedom of religion under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

Our freedom to choose our religion
should be really free, and the people concerned should not have to suffer this
frustrating and lengthy administrative and legal battle to claim this right.
This is the very thing that many of our people were worried about when
considering joining Malaya to form Malaysia over 50 years ago - our religious
freedom being disrupted and curtailed. I hope the Chief Minister, as a strong
advocate for religious freedom, will take the opportunity this DUN session to
propose the amendment as a solution for those who wish to exercise their
freedom to leave Islam.

·KEMAS
SYLLABUS

In June this year, the Minister of Rural and Regional Development announced that
the syllabus of Kemas kindergardens has been overhauled and that the change included
‘Islamic enrichment classes’, ‘increasing religious teachings’, and
‘boosting patriotism’. I wish to ask the
minister concerned whether these changes in the syllabus are implemented in
Kemas kindergardens in Sarawak. It is a fact that some of the kindergartens are
located within areas that is dominantly Christian, and it would be
inappropriate to teach Islamic enrichment classes in these kindergartens. I had
received complaints from parents that their children have been taught Islamic
prayers which they recite at home. I am sure we in Sarawak can formulate our
own syllabus, considering our population, which is of a unique ethnic mix.

·DRUGS
AND CYBER GAMBLING IN LAWAS

The news that a teacher in Lawas had
been arrested a few weeks ago on suspicion of being a drug pusher is not a
surprise to me. This arrest is only the tip of the iceberg and it is especially
worrying as this is a teacher. In June/July this year, the Borneo Post BAT team
reported extensively on the drug problem in Lawas’. What they found out there
was what I had been saying repeatedly, including that fact that syabu can be
bought at the vegetable market for RM50 per straw. One of the paper’s sources
even said that drug pushers ask students to sell
drugs to their schoolmates.

During the last
sitting of DUN in June this year, I asked for the statistics of the Enforcement
Agencies’ successes in Lawas and the answer I received around two weeks ago was
that the drug problem was not serious and under control (‘ancaman dadah di
Lawas tidak serius dan masih terkawal’). This statement contradicts what the
reporters found out when talking to the locals. It appears that there is a disconnect
between the police and the people. There is something very wrong here if the
residents are more worried than the police are about drug abuse and
trafficking. In fact, the source said that the higher authorities should only
allow the police personnel in Lawas to be stationed there for not more than 2
years to be effective.

The problem of cyber gambling had
appeared to be under control for some time but it has made a comeback in Lawas.
This is confirmed in today’s Borneo Post, which reported that two cyber
gambling dens had been raided by CID officers from Kuching.

The police must step up their
efforts to combat this problem. The Commissioner of Police should send a
special team to Lawas to talk to the people and investigate fully what is
happening in the town and villages. Special operations need to be carried out
regularly to root out the drug dealers and close down cyber gambling dens. The
police should consider getting a few drug sniffer dogs to help detect drug
dealers and addicts. At the same time, border control must be stepped up to
stem the tide of drugs flowing in from across the borders. Most importantly,
the police must find out whether other teachers are involved in drug
trafficking and if so, take swift action against them. All schools should give
priority to drug awareness and anti-gambling programmes so that schoolchildren
know the devastation these problems can cause.

This double menace must be
eradicated, otherwise a large proportion of the younger generation in Lawas may
never realise their potential to be useful members of society, and be lost to
their families for good.

·ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

I should be grateful if the Minister
could enlighten us as to what the government intends to do to address the
problem of poor English language skills among the younger generation, and
whether there are plans to bring back English as a medium of instruction in
Sarawak, in view of the fact that the honourable Chief Minister had publicly
said that changing the medium of instruction to Bahasa Malaysia was a ‘stupid’
move.

·DAMS

Mr
Speaker, Sarawakians rejoiced when the Chief Minister announced the
cancellation of Baram Dam. In early May, he was reported to have said that
there was no need to have another big dam but we could have mini dams. Disappointingly, in
September, the government gave its approval to SEB for the construction of the Baleh
Dam. At the ASLI Business Summit held in Sarawak recently, the federal Works Minister
said that the 12 proposed dams are still within the government’s plans, giving
us reason to believe that the government is not really serious in rethinking
its energy strategy. I had spoken at length previously about the dangers of
mega dams and I will not repeat myself, except to urge the government to pursue
other alternatives such as solar, biomass and mini hydro projects as advised by
experts such as Dr Daniel Kammen, Distinguished Professor of Energy from the
University of California, Berkeley.

I
wish to express my displeasure over former SEB head Torstein Sjotveit’s speech at
the ASLI Business Summit last month where he questioned why the Penans should
live in the jungle without electricity, water, education, or proper roads. He
added that we should help them to live like real people – like us. This
derogatory comment exposes his real attitude towards the native community – an
attitude of disdain and contempt. The way the Penans choose to live their lives
does not make them any less real; in fact one could say that their way, being
close to nature and living off the land is more real than the lifestyle of
people like Torstein. It is wrong for these foreigners to come and try to impose
their ways on our people. The natives are the original people of the land and
deserve to be treated with respect. I hope that the government will not spend
exorbitant amounts of money to hire more people like Torstein whose so-called
contributions to Sarawak are questionable.

·MOTION
ON AMENDMENT OF ART 1(2) FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

Mr
Speaker, I am disappointed that my Motion for the restoration of Article 1(2)
of the Federal Constitution to its original form was rejected yesterday by a clever twist of the Deputy
Chief Minister in invoking Standing Order 11(1)(i) read together with Standing
Order 22, to issue a statement purportedly explaining why my motion, together
with two other motions from Ahli Yang
Berhormat for Batu Lintang and Kota Sentosa, should not be tabled at all.
The gist of the rejection of our motions, according to Mr Speaker, was that the
matters raised in our motions had already been included in the on-going
discussion with the Federal Government for the devolution of powers from the
Federal Government to the State Government. With respect Mr Speaker, my motion
has nothing to do with the devolution of powers. It is purely a motion to make
an official stand on the status of Sarawak, which was derogated from being
equal partners with Malaya in the federation of Malaysia to being merely 2 of
13 states of Malaysia by the 1976 amendment without the consent of the State
Government of Sarawak. It is therefore very crucial and legally correct that
the State Assembly should first pass this motion to make official our stand on
the illegality of the 1976 amendment and thereafter to sponsor a bill in Parliament
to restore Article 1(2) to its original form. The honourable Chief Minister had
agreed that the 1976 amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution was
illegal and by disallowing my motion, it appears to me that the State
Government is not serious in wanting to restore our status to its original form
prior to the 1976 amendment.

·LOCAL
ISSUES

üSCHOOL

The
Prime Minister had personally approved RM35 million for the proposed SMK Long
Semadoh during the last elections in May. I had asked at the last DUN session
when this money would be handed over for the construction. The honourable
Minister for Welfare, Woman and Community Wellbeing kindly sent me a reply that
the construction of SMK Long Semadoh had been requested for implementation in
Rolling Plan No 2, 11th Malaysia Plan, but it was however subject to
allocation from the Finance Ministry. We should not be surprised that this has
turned out to be yet another empty promise by the Prime Minister.

The
land for both SMK and SK Long Semadoh had been acquired in 2003. SK Lg Semadoh
is in bad condition and unsafe for the students and staff. Since the land had
been acquired and the people have been waiting for so long, I request that the
schools be built immediately.

I
wish to also ask what the latest update is on the construction of SK Lg Sukang
since the original contractor was unable to complete the administration and
canteen building because of ground instability.

üROADS

I
am puzzled as to why construction of what should be a 50-60km Lg Sebangang to
Lg Sukang road is only for 2.8km, as disclosed by the Minister for
Infrastructure Development recently, and request that the construction be
continued for the whole stretch. I am also requesting for the road between Lg
Sukang and Lg Luping to be considered since the stretch between Lg Luping and
Ba' Kelalan had also been officially gazetted. This will definitely improve the
infrastructure for tourism since the Lg Semadoh Valley is recognized as a hidden
paradise for tourists, as described by a visitor in last Sunday’s Borneo Post.

üAIRSTRIP

Although
the Assistant Minister of Tourism had said last year that there were no plans
to build a bigger airstrip at Long Semadoh or Ba’ Kelalan, he had indicated a
willingness to consider reopening the airstrip at Long Semadoh. I found out that
the airstrip has recently been cleared and is rumoured to be reopening. That
would be welcome news if it were true. I should be grateful for a response from
the honourable minister.

üAGRICULTURE

I
have been informed by Agricultural officers that it is possible to plant specialty
coffee like Arabica and tea at the Lg Semadoh and Bakelalan highlands due to
the suitable conditions and elevation of the area. I know for a fact that other
coffee species had already been introduced to this region in the 60s and were
growing very well, but marketing was always the problem. I wish to propose that the government assists
locals in this endeavour as it will help them earn extra income from their
fertile lands and boost their living standards.

üLAWAS HOSPITAL

I thank
the honourable minister for Local Government for his answer to my question on
the Lawas Hospital at the last sitting of this Dewan, that the approved amount
for Phase 2B is not sufficient to complete the project, and an additional RM72
mil is needed. I am concerned that if the additional funding is not approved,
the project may not see completion. I should be grateful for an update as to whether
the additional funding has been approved and when we can expect the hospital to
be operational.

üSOLAR HYBRID SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

Since
early this year, no maintenance or checks have been done at the Solar
Hybrid power stations at Lg Semadoh Naseb and Lg Sukang in Ba’ Kelalan, and the
workers from the villages employed to maintain the solar farms and systems have
not been paid their salaries by the contractor. The reason given by the
contractor is that the Power Stations Operations and Maintenance has been
handed over to SEB. I wish to ask the minister why SEB is not maintaining the system
after the Government had spent millions of ringgit for the project and why
SESCO is not paying the salaries of their workers. Why is there no proper
maintenance system in place for all these Federal Projects?

In
conclusion may I take this opportunity to wish all Christians a blessed
Christmas, and to all, a Happy New Year.

May
God Bless Sarawak, and I pray that ‘justice roll on like a river, righteousness
like a never failing stream’ from this august house to the whole state of Bumi
Kenyalang. ~Amos 5:24

No comments:

DONATE TO SAVE OUR SARAWAK

BERUBAHLAH! 改变!

PKR will bring the change that Sarawak desperately needs. We will return the trees, the lands and the rivers to the people. Corruption will stop. Taib will continue to hand over the State's wealth and resources to Putrajaya and the preferred elite. PKR, led by Baru Bian in Sarawak, will not steal. Thirty years is enough! The time is now! BERUBAHLAH!